Man Finds Strange Critter in His Home and the Internet Is Freaking Out

Halloween has passed, but Mother Nature is still freaking us out after a man in Indonesia posted a photo of a frightening moth that has gone viral with more than 43 million views.

A man in Semarang posted a photo of the horrific bug, as well as a short video of it in action, on Facebook on Oct. 19.

“Just found a butterfly like this,” the man wrote in a nonchalant caption. The insect has two wings, but looks like it has an extended, orange abdomen with four giant, hairy tentacles coming out of its back.

The photo has been shared over 208,000 times with more than 41,000 comments. Most people were horrified to say the least.

“I can’t handle bugs anymore! Nope nope nope,” one person wrote. Another wrote, “[I] love moths ya know but this fn thing is creepy.”

“I’d rather get dragged to hell than run into this,” one person wrote.

The creature is not a figment of your imagination though. It’s called a Creatonotos gangis, Gary Hevel of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explained to The Washington Post. Hevel said those bizarre tentacles are really its scent glands, which are used to attract a mate.

The scent glands are usually deflated. However, when they are inflated, they can be longer than the moths’ abdomen, the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House explains. The moths are typically found in Southeast Asia and Australia.

So the next time you head to Australia or Asia and see a moth with tentacles, just remember… it’s looking for love.

Photo credit: Facebook